Black Veil
by Von Taylor
Summary: She has a propsition for him. He's skeptical, his son is oblivious and the Dark Lord is getting his bearings. Why does she want this?


_She liked to watch the swirling contents of her cup. Eyes cast downwards to watch the green liquid spiral towards the center of her mug. She seemed content just to watch languidly as both her small, pale hands clutched the sides of the steaming brew carefully. However, a small cough indicated that her guest wasn't all that thrilled in watching green tea make its journey from its teabag. Green eyes were forced to look up at the face in front of her. Silvery hair dangled in his face, over his eyes, falling rather neatly from his green ribboned hold making him look rather angelic, she almost had to laugh. Finally he spoke._

_"You had a proposition for me?" His voice drawled as if he had somewhere else he'd really love to be, but his cold grey eyes said other words. They rooted themselves to her own green ones and held on for dear life._

_A slow smile perched upon her lips as she nodded gently, fiery hair coming loose from its already lax hold. "Yes. Yes, I believe I did."_

A hard sleet pounded the high glass windows mercilessly. With one hand cupped under her chin supporting her head, she sighed. Her left fingers rose lucidly to her frames further pushing them up her nose. Bored out of her mind she resorted to staring out the window. A fire burned brazenly within the hearth, but it offered no warmth. Her small frame was wrapped in a large blue knitted afghan, legs tucked up beneath her. A little pink tongue poked its way out from the corner of her mouth as she went cross eyed, smiling in satisfaction at her reflection. She wasn't vain, but she didn't mind staring at herself either.

"An amusing girl you are Anna Black." A soft, drawling voice, much like its fathers, came from somewhere to her left. Numbly she lifted her head from her chin and swiveled to get a good look at the uninvited guest.

"And last time I checked, Draco Malfoy, you were still an ungrateful little git." She stared point blank at him, if not a little over her plastic frames that had once more slipped down her nose in that little fray of movement.

He gave a nonchalant snort and continued to crouch beside her chair.

"Not standing beside it like you own it, Draco?" Anna raised an eyebrow while absently scratching her cheek which was flushed a brilliant crimson.

"Very funny Black, but actually, if I crouched you wouldn't be able to see my face."

"Oh, and that's something I want to see?" Eyebrows went up further so they were completely hidden within her fringe of hair that hung above emerald eyes.

"Careful now, you might just lose those eyebrows in that wild nest of hair of yours."

"Wild is it? The only wild nest of anything I see is you Draco." He rolled his eyes and flounced to a nearby couch and stretched out upon it, carelessly uprooting a few third years who had apparently taken this scene to be common and just moved on to vouch for another spot to study. Crabbe and Goyle had finally made their way from the Great Hall and sat on two chairs opposite of Draco. Anna let out a hoot of soft laughter before returning her gaze to the window, which was now silent.

"Anna! Oh, Anna!" Came the voice of a small girl with bright red hair flouncing towards her at high speed. Anna cracked a joyous grin and stood up to catch the barely winded cutie before her. They spun around a few dizzying times before the older girl fell back into the overstuffed chair and held the girl tightly in her lap.

"Maria! Where have you been? I've missed you for the past two weeks, darling!" Maria grinned a full innocent grin and shrugged as Anna ruffled her curls. "Anyway, what's up? You look like someone gave you a whole bag of sugar quills."

"Over the summer Mom gave me singing lessons and listen! They paid off!" The small bundle of red bounced off her lap and out of her grip.

"_If I kiss you like that, and you whisper like this it is all coming back to me. Thought you were history with the slamming of the door and I made myself so strong again. But when I touch you like that and you whisper like this…"_ Then suddenly, she looked embarrassed and plopped down in front of Anna's chair, looking up hopefully, no trace of that once bashful face ever present.

However, Anna was grinning from ear to ear stopping down to pick up the still bundle of red and hug her tightly, the duo twirling in their dizzying pattern before falling into a heap of giggles upon the floor, each spread out over the carpet.

"That was marvelous, sweetheart! You're getting ever better at this!"

Maria's face gave everything away. "You really think so? Oh, I hope so! I have an audition this winter and really want to impress the judges." She looked absolutely overjoyed that it was hard for Anna to imagine what life was like at home for Maria. Her mother had cancer and was fighting it valiantly, but she was still ever weakened.

Maria rolled over onto her stomach and stood up. "I gotta get going though; I promised Sean I'd meet him in the library." A faint glow lit her face as she smiled from ear to ear. Anna just nodded and closed her eyes, enjoying the now silent dungeons.

"Hanging out with second years, Black?" Came the voice from her right.

"Mmhm." She made no attempt to give him a full answer, not like it mattered to him or her. He was feeling oddly persistent however.

"Can't find better company Black?" His face was uncomfortably close to hers, grey eyes studying her features.

"The only other company I can find Draco is yours and that's not saying much." She threw him a lopsided grin and reached up haphazardly to ruffle his hair only to hit herself in the face as she let it fall back down. Draco gave a snicker and shook his head when she made no motion to move her hand from the bridge of her nose.

"And I don't plan on it either." Was her muffled reply. He just gave a little startled look and a small breath.


End file.
